The Absolutely Amazing Coral Beauty Angelfish

A streak of orange and purple catch your eye as you walk down the aisle at your local fish store. You turn to the tank and see nothing, when you start walking again you see the streak fly back to the other side. Now you stop and look knowing for sure it wasn’t in your head. You see a tag for a Coral Beauty Angelfish and you know it has to be the one, it’s a beauty alright. Once you can stand there and look at this fish you really start to notice the beautiful details in his coloration. There are dark stripes in the orange coral color that is wrapped in the most vibrant dark purple you have seen on a fish. You ask the fish expert if this magnificent fish is okay for your aquarium. They answer with an energetic “yes”.

The Coral Beauty is one of the most popular fish for the marine aquarium. They can go in almost any tank. They are as robust as angels get. In my opinion they are the most resilient of the angelfish. They are a dwarf angelfish and are mostly reef safe. I have no problem recommending them for a reef. They are also one of the first I recommend to newer aquariums after the tank is biologically cycled.

The problem with the popularity of this saltwater fish is that it is still mostly wild caught. Wild caught fish for the aquarium have it tough. Until about 10 years ago it was the only way to get any saltwater fish. Most people don’t know that their precious fish comes right from the ocean. They are taken from their comfortable environment and what they are used to eating. Its no wonder that they are stressed when they come to the fish store, and then to your home. This is such a great hobby but we can make it better by doing what is right for the fish and the ocean. The list of aquacultured or captive bred fish is getting longer and it’s a thing of beauty!

The coral beauty has now been added to the list of amazing aquacultured (captive bred) fish. Kathy Leahy of Kathys Clowns LLC was the first to successfully raise this fish in captivity.

Here is Kathy’s success with the first captive bred Coral Beauty Angels. They hatched on 5-13-16. Around 6-13-16 they started to be more self sufficient and eat different foods.They also started swimming around the tank and going through their PVC tubes on the bottom of the aquarium looking and acting more like fish. Their coloration came at different times between July and September. Kathy has three survivors and is currently working on a new batch.

Another one to have aquacultured Coral Beauty Angelfish is Biota Marine Life Nursery in Palau. This is where we get our beautiful fish from. Its very exciting that these aquacultured fish are already available to the public. They are usually sent to public aquariums first so its hard for the fish stores and ultimately the hobbyist to get them. The team at Biota is amazing and they have such amazing healthy fish. They sell quickly and one awesome thing about them is you can have more then one in your home aquarium. Watching a group of these beautiful angels swimming together has only been witnessed at public aquariums and in the wild until now.

They are believed to be a bit like clownfish where they can change sex. The young dwarf angelfish are believed to be female and the dominant one will turn male when mature. So, if you start out with two juveniles chances are you may end up with a pair once they reach maturity.

Because of this trait and the fact that they are kept in aquariums when captive bred, two should do well in your aquarium. These fish are already eating prepared food and eat immediately when we get them in. They are small and petite but they will grow up to be strong and mighty.

Coral Beauty Angelfish are such a great addition to almost any saltwater aquarium. I am so happy to be able to offer yet another awesome aquacultured fish to my customers. I am also happy to have companies out there like Kathys Clowns and Biota who are totally into aquaculture like we are. It is the future of the hobby and they only truly sustainable source for saltwater fish. The price is a bit higher on the fish, but the more they are bred and bought, the quicker the price will come down. I am willing to pay more for a healthier and happier fish, are you?

When a fish is newly aquacultured or captive bred there are a lot of people out there who will say that they have “captive bred fish”. There is no way to prove whether this is true or not except documentation. If your fish comes with a certificate, or your local fish store can show you a certificate before you buy, that is so awesome.

Here is documentation we have right from Biota Marine Life Nursery certifying that the fish I buy from them are aquacultured or captive bred.

Education is the key and it’s the most important thing a professional can do for this hobby. Its my mission to educate the public about captive bred and aquacultured fish.